Security Positive 6

80% of Enterprises Run AI Agents in Production, Yet Security Confidence Is 2.32/5 — Team8 Puts $365M to Work

As enterprises rapidly integrate AI agents into SaaS stacks, Team8’s $365 million fund will back startups building infrastructure to secure and govern these autonomous tools—addressing the critical gap between adoption and protection.

· 4 min read · Verified by 2 sources ·

SaaS briefing

Key takeaways

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Positivesentiment
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4min read
  1. As enterprises rapidly integrate AI agents into SaaS stacks, Team8’s $365 million fund will back startups building infrastructure to secure and govern these autonomous tools—addressing the critical gap between adoption and protection.
Drawn from
  • hawaiitelegraph.com
  • nashvilleherald.com

In this briefing

Mentioned

Key Intelligence

Key Facts

  1. 1Team8 raised $365 million in new capital: $265 million for its third fund and over $100 million for follow-on investments.
  2. 2Fund III will back Seed and Series A AI-native startups in cybersecurity, software infrastructure, fintech, and digital health.
  3. 3Total assets under management at Team8 now stand at nearly $2 billion across eight funds since 2014.
  4. 4A survey of 111 enterprise security leaders found 97% adopting AI agents, 80% in production, but confidence in securing them averaged only 2.32 out of 5.
  5. 5The fund recorded its first exit before final close: Palo Alto Networks' acquisition of Koi Security in February 2026.
  6. 6Team8 is led by Managing Partners Sarit Firon and Liran Grinberg, with Partners Ori Barzilay and Hadar Siterman Norris.
Average confidence in securing AI agents
2.32/5

Survey of 111 security leaders at Team8 CISO Summit

Who's Affected

Large Enterprises
organizationPositive
SaaS Platform Providers
companyPositive
CISOs & Security Teams
rolePositive
OpenAI / Anthropic
companyNeutral

Analysis

For SaaS and cloud infrastructure leaders, the numbers are alarming: 80% of organizations already have AI agents in production, but on a scale of 5, their average confidence in securing them is a dismal 2.32. Team8’s new fund is a direct answer to this existential risk, promising to shepherd a new class of AI-native software infrastructure and security startups that can embed governance, visibility, and threat protection into the fabric of AI-augmented applications. This isn’t a niche; it’s becoming mandatory middleware for every enterprise SaaS deployment.

Team8, the global venture fund, has announced $365 million in new capital, comprising a $265 million third fund and over $100 million earmarked for follow-on investments in its most promising portfolio companies. This latest raise pushes Team8’s total assets under management to nearly $2 billion across eight funds since its founding in 2014. The announcement, made on August 11, 2026, underscores the firm’s conviction that the next wave of enterprise value will be created by AI-native startups that can bridge the gap between accelerating AI innovation and the practical security, governance, and infrastructure demands of large organizations.

Team8, the global venture fund, has announced $365 million in new capital, comprising a $265 million third fund and over $100 million earmarked for follow-on investments in its most promising portfolio companies.

The core Fund III will target Seed and Series A companies in cybersecurity, software infrastructure, fintech, and digital health. These sectors, according to Team8, are on the front lines of the AI revolution. The fund’s first exit occurred before its final close: Palo Alto Networks’ reported acquisition of portfolio company Koi Security in February 2026, signaling early validation of the investment thesis. Managing Partners Sarit Firon and Liran Grinberg, along with Partners Ori Barzilay and Hadar Siterman Norris, are leading the charge, bringing deep operational and investment expertise to bear.

The fundraising arrives at a critical inflection point. AI models from pioneers like OpenAI and Anthropic are evolving at breakneck speed, forcing enterprises to constantly rethink product architectures, workflows, and risk postures. Simultaneously, the rush to deploy agentic AI—autonomous software agents that can plan, reason, and execute tasks—has outstripped the implementation of adequate security controls. Team8’s own research at its CISO Village Summit, surveying 111 security leaders, revealed that 97% of organizations have already begun adopting AI agents, with 80% already running them in production. Yet the same survey found that confidence in their ability to secure these agents averaged a mere 2.32 on a scale of 1 to 5. This disconnect represents both a dangerous exposure for enterprises and a massive market opportunity for the right founders.

Team8’s capital will fuel startups that embed security and observability into AI-native tools from the ground up, rather than bolting on protections later. This aligns with the growing demand from CIOs and CISOs for solutions that provide visibility into agentic AI behavior, enforce governance policies, and safeguard data across complex software supply chains. The firm’s focus on enterprise sectors suggests a pragmatic thesis: AI will become the operating system of business, but its adoption will be gated by trust. Startups that can prove they are “AI-native” and “enterprise-ready” from day one will command premium valuations and rapid adoption.

What to Watch

Looking ahead, the $365 million deployment will likely accelerate the creation of a new generation of infrastructure middleware, AI application firewalls, continuous compliance platforms, and domain-specific AI tools tailored for regulated industries like finance and healthcare. Team8’s global reach and its community of CISOs and industry partners position it as a uniquely influential node in this ecosystem. The fund’s follow-on vehicle, oversized at over $100 million, suggests a strategy of doubling down on winners, supporting them through to later stages—a move that could help its portfolio companies consolidate their positions amid a likely wave of M&A and IPOs.

In a market where “AI washing” is rampant, Team8’s data-driven insight into enterprise pain points gives it an edge in identifying substance over hype. However, the competitive landscape is intense, with numerous venture firms also amassing billions for AI-specific funds. Success will depend on Team8’s ability to attract the best founding teams and help them navigate the treacherous path from an AI experiment to a scaled, secure, and indispensable enterprise platform. With nearly $2 billion in AUM and a clear thematic focus, Team8 is poised to be a major shaper of the enterprise AI landscape in the years to come.

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"80% of Enterprises Run AI Agents in Production, Yet Security Confidence Is 2.32/5 — Team8 Puts $365M to Work." SaaS Intelligence Brief, August 12, 2026. https://getsaasbrief.com/story/team8-365m-ai-agent-security-saas

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